Vijayadashami — the “Victorious Tenth Day” — stands as the crowning moment of the Navaratri festival, the day on which the nine nights of worship and austerity culminate in the celebration of dharma's definitive triumph over adharma. Known also as Dasara or Dussehra, this day holds within it not one but three converging narratives from the great scriptures, each illuminating a different facet of the victory that dharma achieves through the grace of the Supreme.
For the Vedic tradition of Bhagavad Ramanuja, Vijayadashami is above all the day of Sri Rama's victory— the moment when the seventh avatara of Sriman Narayana fulfilled His divine purpose by destroying the tyrant Ravana and restoring the cosmic order. Yet the other narratives — the Devi Mahatmyam account and the Mahabharata's Shami tree episode — are not set aside but woven into a comprehensive understanding of what it means for dharma to prevail.
The Story: Three Converging Narratives
The power of Vijayadashami lies in the convergence of three great scriptural narratives upon a single sacred day. Each narrative speaks to a different dimension of the victory of righteousness, and together they form a complete theology of divine triumph.
I. Sri Rama's Victory over Ravana
The Valmiki Ramayana, in the Yuddha Kanda (Chapters 108-111), recounts the climactic moment of the great war at Lanka. For nine days the battle had raged — the Vanara armies of Sugriva clashing with the Rakshasa forces, mighty warriors falling on both sides, Lakshmana himself struck down by Indrajit's Shakti weapon and revived only by the Sanjeevani herb brought by Hanuman across the heavens. On the tenth day, Sri Rama faced Ravana on the open battlefield. The ten-headed king of Lanka, master of all weapons, recipient of Brahma's boon, ruler of the three worlds by force — stood before the Lord who had chosen to fight as a mortal prince. With the Brahmastra, consecrated by Vedic mantras and empowered by divine will, Rama pierced Ravana's heart. The ten heads fell. The tyrant who had terrorized creation was no more. Vibhishana, who had sought refuge at Rama's feet, was crowned king of Lanka — the first act of the new order of dharma.
II. Durga's Victory over Mahishasura
The Devi Mahatmyam (also known as the Durga Saptashati, a section of the Markandeya Purana) recounts the battle between Goddess Durga and the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. For nine nights the battle raged across the heavens. Mahishasura, who had obtained a boon rendering him invulnerable to any male being, had driven the Devas from their celestial abodes and installed himself as sovereign of Svarga. The combined radiance of all the Devas coalesced into the form of the Goddess — Durga, resplendent with eighteen arms, each bearing a weapon gifted by the gods. On the tenth day, after Mahishasura had exhausted every stratagem and shape-shifting form, the Goddess pierced him with her trident and severed his head with her sword. The cosmos was liberated, and the Devas returned to their rightful stations.
III. Arjuna and the Shami Tree
The Mahabharata, in the Virata Parva, narrates a lesser-known but deeply significant episode. During the thirteenth year of the Pandavas' exile — the year of concealment in King Virata's court — Arjuna had hidden his mighty weapons, including the divine bow Gandiva, in the hollow of a great Shami tree outside the city. On the day of Vijayadashami, when the year of concealment ended and the Kauravas attacked Virata's kingdom, Arjuna retrieved his weapons from the Shami tree and revealed his true identity. He then single-handedly routed the entire Kaurava army, sounding the Devadatta conch and wielding the Gandiva once more. This episode gave rise to the tradition of worshipping the Shami tree on Vijayadashami and of honoring one's instruments and tools — for it was through the preservation and reverent retrieval of his weapons that Arjuna was able to fulfill his dharma.
Sri Vaishnava Significance
For the followers of Ramanuja, Vijayadashami is first and foremost the celebration of Rama's victory — the definitive triumph of the seventh avatara of Sriman Narayana. This is not merely a military victory but a cosmic restoration. The Lord descended into the solar dynasty not to conquer a kingdom but to demonstrate that dharma, when upheld with unwavering resolve and absolute surrender to the divine will, can never be defeated — no matter how powerful the forces arrayed against it.
The Ten Heads of Ravana
The Sri Vaishnava commentarial tradition has long interpreted the ten heads of Ravana allegorically. The ten heads represent the five jnanendriyas (senses of perception — sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) and the five karmendriyas(organs of action — hands, feet, speech, excretion, reproduction). Ravana's ten-headed form thus symbolizes the soul utterly enslaved by its senses, every faculty directed outward toward objects of desire rather than inward toward Narayana. Rama's arrow, which felled all ten heads in a single stroke, represents the grace of the Lord that liberates the soul from sensory bondage — not by gradual discipline alone, but by a single act of divine intervention that the surrendered soul receives through Prapatti.
The Shami tree episode carries its own Sri Vaishnava resonance. The Pandavas — and Arjuna in particular — are understood as instruments of Krishna's cosmic plan. It was Krishna who orchestrated the events of the Mahabharata from beginning to end, ensuring that dharma would be upheld through the Pandavas despite every obstacle. Arjuna's retrieval of his weapons from the Shami tree is not merely practical but theological: the instruments of dharma may be temporarily concealed, but they are never lost, and when the time is right, the Lord ensures they are restored to the hands of those who will wield them in His service.
Vidyarambham and the Sri Vaishnava Emphasis on Learning
The tradition of Vidyarambham — initiating children into learning on Vijayadashami — resonates deeply with Sri Vaishnava values. Ramanuja himself, according to tradition, began his formal education on an auspicious day under the guidance of his teacher Yadavaprakasha. The Sri Vaishnava emphasis on Ubhaya Vedanta— the “dual Vedanta” of both Sanskrit and Tamil sacred literature — means that learning is not a secular pursuit but a sacred obligation. The Vedas, the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit, together with the Nalayira Divya Prabandham and the commentaries of the Alvars in Tamil, constitute a unified body of salvific knowledge. To begin a child's education on Vijayadashami is to consecrate the very first step of this lifelong journey toward Brahma Vidya — the knowledge of Brahman.
The Shastra Puja tradition — the honoring of tools and instruments — finds its Sri Vaishnava expression in the concept of kainkarya, loving service. In the Vishishtadvaita understanding, every form of legitimate work, when performed as service to the Lord, becomes sacred. The farmer's plough, the scholar's books, the artisan's tools, the student's slate — all are instruments of kainkarya when wielded with the consciousness that one's work is ultimately an offering to Sriman Narayana. To worship these instruments on Vijayadashami is to sanctify one's daily labor and to recognize that the path to the Lord passes not only through the temple but through the field, the workshop, and the classroom.
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata, abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srijamy aham.
“Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, I manifest Myself.” — Bhagavad Gita 4.7
How We Celebrate at JETNJ
Vijayadashami Puja
A special puja is conducted on the morning of Vijayadashami, with the processional deities of Sri Sita-Rama-Lakshmana-Hanuman adorned in triumphant alankaram. The Vishnu Sahasranama and selected pasurams from the Divya Prabandham celebrating the Rama avatara are chanted.
Shastra Puja / Ayudha Puja
Devotees are invited to bring their tools, books, musical instruments, laptops, and implements of their profession for blessing. Each item is placed before the altar, adorned with flowers and sandalwood paste, and sanctified through mantras — consecrating the instruments of one's dharmic livelihood.
Children's Vidyarambham Ceremony
Young children are initiated into learning through the Vidyarambham ceremony. Seated on their parents' laps before the deity, each child traces their first letters — 'Om' and 'Sri' — in a plate of rice, guided by the priest's hand. This ancient rite marks the beginning of the child's journey into sacred and secular knowledge.
Symbolic Ravana Effigy
A symbolic Ravana effigy represents the ten-headed demon whose destruction by Sri Rama signifies the victory of dharma over adharma. The community gathers to witness this enactment as a reminder that no fortress of ignorance or tyranny can withstand the advance of the Lord.
Community Feast
Vijayadashami concludes with a festive community meal — pulihora, sweet pongal, payasam, and seasonal preparations — shared by all devotees in the spirit of the joy that follows dharma's triumph. The feast is an expression of the abundance that flows when the cosmic order is restored.
Scriptural References
Valmiki Ramayana (Yuddha Kanda 108-111)
The definitive account of Sri Rama's battle with Ravana — the nine-day siege, the Brahmastra, and the fall of the ten-headed king
Devi Mahatmyam (Markandeya Purana)
The nine nights of Durga's battle with Mahishasura — the buffalo-demon vanquished on the tenth day
Mahabharata (Virata Parva)
Arjuna's year of concealment, the retrieval of weapons from the Shami tree, and the rout of the Kaurava forces
The deepest teaching of Vijayadashami, as understood in the Ramanuja Sampradaya, is that the victory of dharma is not contingent upon the strength of the individual but upon the grace of the Lord who stands behind the righteous. Rama did not prevail because He was the mightiest warrior on the field — He prevailed because He is Sriman Narayana, the Supreme who descends into creation to ensure that dharma is never finally extinguished.
For the devotee, the message is one of unshakable confidence. The forces of adharma may appear overwhelming. The Ravanas of this world may seem invincible. The year of concealment may seem endless. But Vijayadashami declares that the tenth day always comes. The arrow is always released. The weapons are always retrieved from the Shami tree. The child always traces the first letter in the rice. Dharma prevails — not because the world is just, but because Sriman Narayana wills it so.
The tenth day always comes. The arrow is always released. No fortress of adharma, however impregnable, can withstand the advance of the Lord who fights for the righteous.
Based on the Valmiki Ramayana, Devi Mahatmyam, Mahabharata (Virata Parva), Bhagavad Gita, and the commentarial tradition of the Sri Vaishnava Acharyas. This article is published for educational and devotional purposes by JETNJ — Sanjeevani Jeeyar Asramam.
